Thermal response of bi-stable composite laminates with temperature dependent material properties

In this study, the thermal response of a bi-stable composite plate with different asymmetric composition is considered. The non-linear finite element method (FEM) was utilized to determine the response of laminate. Attention was focused on the temperature dependency of laminate mechanical properties, especially on the thermal expansion coefficients of the composite graphite-epoxy plate. The effect of the temperature on the laminate cured configurations in the range of 25°C to 180°C was investigated. An experimental investigation was carried out to study thecured shapes of the laminates. Several specimens were manufactured from T300/5208 graphite-epoxy with [0/90]T, [-30/60]T, [-20/70]T asymmetric stacking sequence. Optical microscopy was used to characterize the laminate compositions. Next the exact thickness of each lamina and resin layer in all specimens was determined by image processing. The results obtained from the finite element simulations were compared with experimental results and a good correlation was obtained.

کلیدواژه ها:

Bi-stable laminates ، Graphite-epoxy plate ، Finite element method ، Thermal response